Due to diminishing quantities of coal, petroleum, and natural gas products, attention is being directed to other energy sources, including oil shale, solar energy, and nuclear energy. One source receiving considerable attention is biomass materials such as wood and its byproducts. Biomass has the potential for use in countless different applications including generating heat, production of liquid fuel, production of biogas, generating bioelectricity, and production of feedstock for chemicals and other materials.
As woody and herbaceous biomass becomes more and more viable for renewable energy, equipment companies have started engineering machines capable of harvesting biomass quickly and efficiently. In conventional biomass harvesting operations, biomass is cut with a harvester such as a disc mower or a self-propelled hay swather. A truck pulling a baler assembly follows the harvester, collects the biomass that has been cut and forms it into round or rectangular bales. In some situations, the baler may be self-propelled, thereby eliminating the need for a truck. After baling, the bales of biomass are tied and transported for use in specific applications such as those mentioned above.
As the demand for clean energy solutions and the interest in utilizing biomass continues to grow, the need for specialized and efficient equipment will also become more apparent. One opportunity for improving current systems may include combining the functions of harvesting and baling in a single multi-functional piece of equipment. By combining these steps into one machine, the time and cost associated with biomass harvesting may be substantially reduced when compared to current methods.